2011 Reno Air Races crash

NX79111, The Galloping Ghost, the accident aircraft, photographed at the 2010 Reno Air Races.
Accident summary
Date Friday, September 16, 2011
4:15 p.m. PST
Summary Mechanical failure
Site Reno, Nevada, U.S.
39°39′37.12″N 119°52′40.81″W / 39.6603111°N 119.8780028°WCoordinates: 39°39′37.12″N 119°52′40.81″W / 39.6603111°N 119.8780028°W
Crew 1
Injuries (non-fatal) 69 (ground)[1]
Fatalities 11 (including the pilot and 10 on the ground).[2]
Aircraft type North American P-51D Mustang
Aircraft name The Galloping Ghost
Operator Jimmy Leeward
Registration NX79111
Flight origin Reno Stead Airport
Destination Reno Stead Airport

On September 16, 2011 at the Reno Air Races, a North American P-51D Mustang crashed into spectators, killing the pilot and 10 people on the ground and injuring 69 others. The aircraft was named The Galloping Ghost and was flown by James K. "Jimmy" Leeward.[3] It was the third-deadliest airshow disaster in U.S. history, following accidents in 1972 and 1951.[4]

Accident

Leeward, 74, and his Mustang, The Galloping Ghost, were in third place and had just rounded pylon number 8 when the airplane abruptly pitched up, rolled inverted, then pitched down.[5] The aircraft hit the tarmac in front of the grandstands in an area containing box seating, and disintegrated.

Seven people, including the pilot, died at the crash site;[6] four died later in the hospital.[2][7][8] The weekend's remaining races at the Reno Air Races were cancelled.

The day after the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began examining whether part of the tail had come off before the crash.[9] A photograph taken just before the crash showed the airplane inverted and part of the left elevator trim tab missing.[9][10]

On October 21, 2011, Federal crash investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said that they found no readable onboard video amid the debris of the racing plane. However, they were still attempting to extract information from an onboard data memory card found among damaged aircraft components and other debris scattered over more than two acres following the crash, as well as hundreds of photos and dozens of videos provided by spectators.[11]

In 2012 the NTSB released seven safety recommendations to be applied to future air races. These included course design and layout, pre-race inspections, airworthiness of aircraft modifications, FAA guidance, pilot g-force awareness, and ramp safety.[12]

Aircraft

The Mustang, named The Galloping Ghost, was a highly modified former military plane that in 2010 had come out of retirement after undergoing major modifications, including removal of the underbelly radiator and installation of a "boil off" cooling system, as well as other modifications that the owner describes as designed to make the plane more efficient. The former United States Air Force 44-15651 was owned by Aero Trans Corp., DBA in Ocala, Florida.[13] The wings had been clipped a further 3 ft (0.91 m) each side on top of the 4 ft (1.2 m) reduction in span earlier in its life.[14]

The aircraft had a long history of successful competition in air races dating back to the National Air Races from 1946 to 1949 in Cleveland.[15] It was flown by a series of pilots under a variety of names, including "Miss Candace" from 1969 to 1978 and "Jeannie" in 1981.[16]

Leeward called the modifications of the plane "radical." He said the oil system was similar to an oil cooling system in the Space Shuttle.[17][18] The canopy is about the size of the ones on Formula One aircraft. The modifications were meant to improve aerodynamics by reducing drag and hence increase top speed.[17]

Previous incidents

On September 18, 1970, the airplane (then known as Miss Candace Race #69) crashed after an engine failure during an air show at Reno Stead Airport and landed short of the runway, with only minor injuries to pilot Dr. Cliff Cummins.[19]

In 1998, another modified P-51 Mustang, Voodoo Chile, lost a left trim tab during the Reno Air Races. The pilot, "Hurricane" Bob Hannah, reported that the airplane pitched up, subjecting him to more than 10 g and knocking him unconscious. When he regained consciousness, the plane had climbed to more than 9,000 feet, and he brought it in for a safe landing.[20][21]

In 1999, another highly modified P-51 called Miss Ashley II, piloted by Gary Levitz, experienced rudder flutter during an Unlimited race at the Reno Air Races. The airframe broke up, killing Levitz.[22]

Investigation results

The NTSB thoroughly investigated the extensive modifications made to the airplane. The modifications had made the aircraft lighter and reduced drag, but decreased stability. Leeward took the plane to 530 mph during the race, about 40 mph faster than he had ever gone before.[23] There was evidence of extreme stress on the airframe demonstrated by buckling of the fuselage aft of the wing and gaps appearing between the fuselage and the canopy during flight (clearly visible in high resolution photographs taken by spectators).

However, the investigation (released in August 2012) found that the probable cause of the crash were reused single-use locknuts in the left elevator trim tab system that loosened. This led to a fatigue crack in an attachment screw and allowed the trim tab to flutter. This flutter caused the trim tab link assembly to fail which led to loss of control of the aircraft. Untested and undocumented modifications to the airplane contributed to the accident. Particularly, the right trim tab had been fixed in place. Had both trim tabs been operational, the loss of the left trim tab alone may not have caused loss of control. When the trim tab failed, Leeward was exposed to 17Gs which quickly incapacitated him and likely rendered him unconscious.[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Death toll following Reno air disaster reaches 9; 69 injured". BNO News. September 17, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Houston man among those killed in Reno Air Races crash". Reno Gazette-Journal. September 20, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Plane crashes into crowd at Reno air races". MSNBC. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Bridget (2011-09-19). "World's Worst Air Show Crashes". World News. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  5. ↑ "'Mass casualties' reported after plane crashes at Nevada air show". CNN. September 16, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Death toll from Nevada air crash rises to nine". Reuters. 2011-09-17.
  7. ↑ Ritter, Ken (1970-09-18). "Plane in NV crash had 'radical' changes to compete". ajc.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  8. ↑ Frank, Thomas (2011-09-18). "10th person dies from Reno air race crash". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Barboza, Tony (September 17, 2011). "Reno air races crash: NTSB investigates elevator trim tab". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  10. ↑ "US vintage aircraft crashes into crowd". Telegraph (London). September 17, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  11. ↑ "NTSB: No Video From P-51 in Reno Air Show Crash". ABC. October 21, 2011.
  12. ↑ Sport Aviation: 16. June 2012.
  13. ↑ "P-51D Mustang/44-15651". FAA Registry. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
  14. ↑ Davison, Budd (May 2011). "Reviving a Ghost". Sport Aviation (Experimental Aircraft Association) 60 (5): 34–39. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  15. ↑ Steve C Beville obituary, EAA.
  16. ↑ The Galloping Ghost Returns to Reno, Pacific Flyer, October 1, 2010.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Davison, Budd (May 2011). "Reviving a Ghost". Sport Aviation (Experimental Aircraft Association) 60 (5): 34–39. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  18. ↑ "June 2011 National Championship Air Races Podcast". YouTube. 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  19. ↑ "NTSB accident report OAK71FXQ16 N.American P-51D, registration: N79111". National Transportation Safety Board
  20. ↑ "Voodoo - 98 NCAR". Warbird.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  21. ↑ "Reno Unlimiteds Turn 35". Avweb.com. 1998-09-27. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  22. ↑ "National Transportation Safety Board, No. LAX99FA311, Brief of Accident, Adopted 05/09/2001." Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  23. ↑ Ritter, Ken, "NTSB: Trim tab failure caused 2011 race crash", Military Times, 27 August 2012
  24. ↑ Accident Brief, NTSB/AAB-12/01 PB2012-916203

External links